2022 FUSA Annual Report

2022 Annual Report

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

STUDENT ASSOCIATION

Acknowledgment of Country

Flinders University acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which its campuses are located. These are the Traditional Lands of the Arrernte, Dagoman, First Nations of the South East, First Peoples of the River Murray & Mallee region, Jawoyn, Kaurna, Larrakia, Ngadjuri, Ngarrindjeri, Ramindjeri, Warumungu, Wardaman and Yolngu people.

We honour their Elders past, present and emerging.

About FUSA

Flinders University Student Association (FUSA) represents the rights and interests of Flinders University students. FUSA is governed by an elected Student Council who direct the priorities of FUSA each year with the support of dedicated staff. We provide a welcoming and lively student experience which focuses on campus culture, giving support to students in need, and facilitating opportunities for students to be a part of the wider University community.

The services that FUSA provides include:

• Student representation, including in central University bodies and across Colleges.

• Academic advocacy, financial counselling and welfare services.

• Administration of student clubs and academic associations.

• Events and activities on campus and online.

• Student led media and communication, including the student magazine, Empire Times.

Under the FUSA Constitution, the function and purpose of FUSA is to:

• Promote and advance the rights, interests and welfare of students.

• Represent students within and outside the University.

• Coordinate and support activities for students, including support for affiliated clubs.

• Provide the means for effective communication between students, the Association and the University.

• Oversee the delivery of student services, which are funded from the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SAFF).

Student Council

Student President

Molly Turnbull

General Secretary

Emily Williams

Education Officer

Ange Nishimwe

Welfare Officer

Darlyn Tan-Sik

First Nations Students Officer

Madeline Wood

International Students Officer

Manasi Dharmesh

Bhanushali

Women’s Officer

Alivia Vickers

Queer Officer

Shanii Sparrow

Environment Officer

Billy Greet

Disabilities Officer

Anu Francis

Mature Age Students Officer

Jessica Williams

Social Activities Officer

Jamie Keegan-Treloar

Postgraduate Students Officer

Melanie Amarasooriya

General Council Members

Lockhart Tynan

Caitlin Fenwick

Riley Jones

Lucas Clayton

Lachlan White

Sharleen Kabiri

Empire Times Editor Team

Tahlia Dilberovic

Claire Gibbins

Jessica Rowe

NUS Conference Delegates

Molly Turnbull

Benika Bhoola

Ange Nishimwe

Isaac Beckmann

Emily Williams

Lachlan White

FUSA Staff 2022

Manager Student Engagement

Ben Smith

Helen Laity (Acting)

Administration Assistants

Stacy White

Sally Duckworth

Nikki Esmaeili

Lila Juwayed

Tim Townend

Senior Coordinator, Student Representation and Partnerships

Kate Walsh

Student Representation Support Coordinator

Fletcher O’Leary

Student Representation Support Officer

Liwen Seto

Sarah Harding

Media and Communications Coordinator

Steph Walker

Media Officer

Jess Nicole

Media Assistant

Dee Ghia

Clubs and Societies Officer

Adam Rau

David Hopkins

Events and Projects Coordinator

Caleb Osborne

Events Assistant

Alexandra Mibus

Claudia Bradley

Student Finance and Advocacy Officer

Helen Laity

Stacy White

Student Advocacy Officers

Ally Drew

Ali Barnes

Ryan Colsey

Christine Bennets-Gibson

Student Council 2022

Billy Greet Environment Officer 2022/Student President 2023

In 2022 Student Council made significant progress towards our goals, with a focus on promoting inclusion and diversity and working towards bringing back a sense of campus culture after a few challenging years.

Our Student Council achieved two significant milestones for students this year. Firstly, we updated our election regulations to include autonomous voting for the First Nations Students Officer. This recognises and respects the unique perspectives and voices of First Nations students, giving them greater control over the election process. Secondly, we updated our constitution to include the People of Colour Officer, providing a platform for these students to voice their concerns, seek support, and engage in initiatives. These changes have contributed to a more diverse, inclusive, and representative Student Council, reflecting FUSA's ongoing commitment to promoting equality and diversity.

Our antipoverty campaign continued in 2022, with a focus on raising awareness of student poverty and supporting those in need. We continued our program tackling period poverty, installing period product dispensers in select bathrooms across all major campuses and consulted with the University to expand this program permanently. The disabilities space in the library was fitted with additional furniture and resources, and sport wheelchairs were purchased to increase accessibility and opportunity for students to participate in sports. The Mature Age Students Officer created validation surveys to gather insights into the student experiences, shaping ongoing efforts to support and engage with this important demographic that makes up approximately half of the student cohort. We organised successful events like Water Week, promoting sustainable water use on campus and at home. Wear It Purple events included a quiz night and stalls, and our Sexual Health Week event featured workshops and fair activities. We also organised and participated in a campus clean up for Clean Up Australia Day, promoting environmental sustainability and a clean, litter-free campus.

We also updated the Empire Times regulations to sustain more flexibility within the editorial team. We changed the date that the team starts their term to allow for an additional month of handover and training. This change will ensure a smoother transition between editorial teams and provide more opportunities for skill-building and training.

Finally, we created the Deadnaming Steering Group, comprising of a range of key stakeholders including the Student President, Queer Officer, President of the Queer Collective, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Students, Coordinator of Flinders Connect, Associate Director of Organisational Development and Diversity, Director of Student Services, and the co-chair of the Pride Network. This group aims to address the issue of deadnaming on campus, working towards ensuring a respectful and inclusive student experience. Through this initiative, we hope to make meaningful progress towards creating a more welcoming and inclusive campus environment where all students have the ability to use the name that best aligns with them and have this reflected in all systems across the university.

I would like to say a big thank you to the Student Council of 2022 for their hard work and dedication in serving the students of Flinders University. I would also like to extend this thanks to the FUSA staff and volunteers, who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to support the Student Council. Lastly, thank you to all of the students for engaging with all our projects and events throughout 2022.

Advocacy & Welfare

Overview

The Advocacy and Welfare team provides independent, free, and confidential advocacy services to all enrolled students at Flinders University who are experiencing academic, administrative, financial or welfare difficulties. The Advocacy and Welfare team is a service provided by the Flinders University Student Association (FUSA).

The primary role of our academic advocates is to provide students with advice and support regarding the University’s policies and procedures, and to ensure that students understand their rights and options under policy. Academic advocates ensure that students are fairly represented by providing relevant information, referrals, and advice.

Our registered Financial Counsellor provides information, support and advocacy to students experiencing financial difficulty, and advises students regarding the University’s financial processes. This includes applying for tuition fee instalments, budgeting, understanding which debts are priorities, negotiating with creditors, accessing grants and/or concessions, and referral to external services in the community.

We also provide welfare support including Emergency Financial Assistance, Interest Free $500 Loans, Financial Support Grants, and information on Centrelink payments.

Staffing

The Advocacy and Welfare Team is staffed by 3.1 FTE staff members. In 2022, the

team initially comprised of Team Leader and Financial Counsellor Helen Laity, Academic Advocates Ally Drew and Ali Barnes and part-time Financial Counsellor Stacy White. In May, we were joined by 2 more Academic Advocates – Ryan Colsey and Christine Bennetts-Gibson.

Case Management

Where the previous 2 years of COVID-19 restrictions required us to adapt to constantly changing conditions, 2022 saw a gradual return to ‘normal’ in terms of the delivery of services to students. Although we continued to provide appointments via Microsoft Teams and phone, we were pleased to be able to meet with students face to face once again. However, the lessons learned from the pandemic years have not been lost and we are keen to continue to provide flexible service delivery to those students who are not able to access the Bedford Park campus.

Our case numbers for academic advocacy and financial counselling were largely on par with 2021’s figures. Similarly, the issues we assisted students with remained relatively in tune with those of 2021 although we saw an increase in the number of students seeking support and advice with the remission of fees process. Each case, or student, can present with multiple issues and in 2022 we supported 789 students with 985 issues.

Academic Advocacy

Of the 580 Academic issues the most common were:

Financial Issues

Of the 405 Financial issues the most common were:

Grants and Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA)

Our Emergency Financial Assistance program distributed food vouchers, food parcels and transport assistance to the value of $24,290 to 216 students on 349 occasions.

We opened applications for Financial Support Grants in July 2022 and 50 students were successful in each receiving a grant of $500, a total of $25,000.

We managed the Parking Support Subsidy for the University to the eligible students and distributed a total of $7,930 worth of parking subsidy to 131 applicants in the form of Cello park vouchers and reimbursements.

Partnerships

In 2022 we continued our partnership with Uniting Communities as a resource for students experiencing ongoing financial difficulties who were seeking extra assistance or alternative support beyond what we were able to provide.

We also partnered with Anglicare SA who administered our Emergency Financial Assistance program during the University Christmas Closure period in 2022, as they have for the previous two years.

TOP 3 COLLEGES BY CASE NUMBER

1 2 3

College of Nursing & Health Sciences

College of Science & Engineering College of Education, Psychology & Social Work

Student Representation & Development

Student Academic Representation

The Student Academic Representative (SAR) program, managed by FUSA, provides an opportunity for students to have a voice regarding their learning. The SAR program involves the recruitment, training and ongoing support for student reps, as well as support for staff who are engaged with reps. A total of 415 student academic representatives were recognised for their work in 2022. Feedback received from student representatives has been overwhelmingly positive and speaks to the multiple benefits reps gain from taking part in the program. A Course Representative from the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) noted that “they have gained significant self-confidence, met with a diverse group of student peers and teaching staff members, and developed a wider network of connections with students."

Our highly developed training program for reps is also very well received, with over 80% of participants evaluating the training as ‘extremely valuable’. The Student Academic Rep program also attracts a diverse community of students, with demographics for participants in our training program indicating:

24% are ‘first in family’ to attend university; 33 % are mature age students, and; 27% of are international students.

Development Grants

FUSA Development Grants (FDG’s) fund the professional and personal development of students at Flinders University. In 2022, FUSA awarded $33,700 worth of grants to 117 Flinders students to assist their professional development and enhance leadership skills.

223 students applied across three rounds with over $99,000 in requested funding. Thanks to the FDG’s, many Flinders students were able to take advantage of professional development opportunities supported by FUSA they otherwise may not have been able to access.

Some successful applications included:

1. A PhD student who received funding to present their research at the International Symposium on Cleaning Energy Materials.

2. A Master of Teaching student who received funding to undertake a course on best practice for relationship and sexual health education with SHINE SA.

3. A Bachelor Sport, Health and Physical Activity student who received funding to undertake a Bushwalking Leadership course.

Student Led Teaching Awards (SLTAs)

The Student-Led Teaching Awards (SLTAs) offer a way for students to recognise and raise the profile of teaching at Flinders University while celebrating best practice. FUSA invited students across the University to nominate teaching staff in four categories (College SLTA, TA that Saved the Day, Most Supportive Supervisor, and Best in Flo), before an allstudent judging panel, chaired by the FUSA Education Officer, had the difficult task of reviewing the many nominations and selecting the best in each category.

The awards introduced in 2021, have grown in popularity, with the number of nominations doubling in 2022 to recognise remarkable academic staff.

FUSA congratulates all the winners of the 2022 Student-Led Teaching Awards:

2022 Student-Led Teaching Award (College Awards)

College of Business, Government and Law

Dr Sharif Rasel

College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Dr Steve Corrie

College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Dr Laura Roberts

College of Medicine and Public Health

Dr Anthony Venning

College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Kristy Burfield

College of Science and Engineering

Dr Bruno Alves Buzatto

For the second year in a row, the top nomination from the six colleges was awarded the University Ducks in Teaching (Best of the Best). Huge congratulations to Dr Steve Corrie who brings home this award once again for the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work.

Most Supportive Supervisor Award

Dr Michael Doane

TA that Saved the Day

Simon Pegoli

Best in FLO

Dr Svetlana King

PhD student Safira Moura Barros used their Development Grant to attend and present research at the Royal Australian Chemical Institute National Congress (RACI 2022). Safira received an Honourable Mention from The RACI Woman in Chemistry Group, which was related to the activity funded by FUSA Development Grants.

Safira Moura Barros | PhD Student

Dr Steve Corrie | Lecturer College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Outstanding Student Representative Awards

While all our Student Reps are valued, there are some that go above and beyond in their roles and really make a difference in representing their cohort. That’s where the Outstanding Student Representative Awards come in! The awards provide an opportunity for Topic and Course Coordinators to acknowledge the contributions their student representative make across the year.

In the nomination from the course coordinator of Master of Information Technology, Dr Brett Wilkinson commented on his course representative Mian Shun: “Mian has approached her role with dedication. She regularly consults with her peers and is thoroughly prepared for regular meetings with an agenda and action items. This type of coordination has enabled a productive semester with many issues raised and resolved across the course and topic both. Mian clearly demonstrates her commitment to the improvement of the education programs for her cohort. Mian exemplifies the goals of the student rep program.”

The awardees in 2022 are:

-Mian Shum (College of Sceince and Engineering)

-Mengxin Han (College of Education, Psychology and Social Work)

-Kirsty Emery (College of Medicine and Public Health)

-Kahli Jeffery & Abbey Nicholls – Team Award (College of Science and Engineering)

Elections

Each year, elections are held for FUSA Student Council, Empire Times editors, and National Union of Students Delegates. Elections are one way that students contribute to the vibrant democracy at Flinders University, by having a say in who their representatives are or by standing for positions themselves. We were pleased to see that voter turnout was slightly higher in 2022 than in 2021, with more students back on campus. The elections also included the liveliest presidential candidate’s debate, moderated by Associate Professor Rob Manwaring, from the College of Business, Government and Law.

At the AGM in 2021, an amendment to the FUSA Constitution was approved to create the People of Colour Officer position to represent the interests of culturally diverse students. This position was elected for the first time at the 2022 elections.

2022 was also the first year that the First Nations Officer position was to be directly elected by the First Nations student cohort. While no initial nominations were received for First Nations Students Officer during the election, the vacancy was subsequently filled by a selection process overseen by an all First Nations student panel.

2022 FUSA Election Results

STUDENT PRESIDENT

Billy Greet

GENERAL SECRETARY

Shanii Sparrow

EDUCATION OFFICER

Jess Williams

WOMEN'S OFFICER

Aishwarya

WELFARE OFFICER

Alivia Vickers

POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OFFICER

Sharleen Kabiri

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OFFICER

Suyatra (Sue)

QUEER OFFICER

Riley Jones

FIRST NATIONS STUDENTS OFFICER

Nadia Metzger (casual vacancy appointment)

ENVIRONMENT OFFICER

Lupin Lo

DISABILITIES OFFICER

Danielle Rohrlach

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES OFFICER

Antonio Pupulin

MATURE AGE STUDENTS OFFICER

Shannon Whitford

PEOPLE OF COLOUR OFFICER

Darlyn Tan-Sik

GENERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS (SIX POSITIONS)

Kevin Chao

Jess Trezona

Bree Elliott

Janageeth

Gwydion Rozitisolds

Maddy Tapley

EMPIRE TIMES EDITOR TEAM

Katie Stedman

Katia Rawlings

Rachelle Summers

Georgia Nolan

NUS CONFERENCE DELEGATES

Darlyn Tan-Sik

Billy Greet

Janageeth

Molly Turnbull

Maddy Tapley

Jess Williams

Events

FUSA ran a diverse range of events that combined fun, information, awareness, and education. These events helped to build FUSA’s profile as a student focused and student centric association.

While the start of 2022 was challenged by COVID restrictions, the rest of year saw a solid return to on-campus events and activations. We continued to find new ways to engage with students and collaborated with multiple stakeholders across the University.

Events and activations included:

- FUSA Uni Ball, Enchanted Forest

- Halloween Party

- So Fresh Winter Edition

- RUOK? Day

- Exam Support

- Wellbeing & Spiritual Health Day

- Clubs Fair

- O'Week After Party: Heaven & Hell

- Be A Better Human Fair Day

- World’s Greatest Shave

- Grab ’n’ Go

- Tonsley CSE Social

Highlights from 2022 include:

Uni Ball - FUSA hosted the largest ever Uni Ball with 350 attendees maxing out venue capacity. This was our first full scale Uni Ball following cancellations and capacity restrictions in 2020 and 2021. This year’s Enchanted Forest theme proved popular, and the event was thoroughly enjoyed by attendees. We plan to build the event to 400 attendees in 2023.

Be A Better Human (BABH) Fair Day - FUSA hosted a large activation at Bedford, and pop-up activations at Sturt and Tonsley. The activations included an expo stall with educational resources and free merch, commitment to ‘being a better human’ photobooth, live music, stalls, and DIY bead making and tote bag painting stations. The event was extremely popular with students across the days.

Halloween Party - FUSA hosted a Halloween themed event at the Flinders Tavern. This followed a range of successful Tavern parties across 2022. It was one of our most popular events, and included a DJ, photo booth, free food, drink specials, theming and décor, and a best dressed competition.

Orientation Program 2022

Semester 1 O’Week was mostly cancelled due to COVID restrictions. Staff had to rapidly pivot back to delivering on-campus activity and engagement. This included a FUSA stall, Welcome Hub, student services stalls, live music, picnic furniture, free food vouchers, plus a range of online activations, giveaways, and freebies.

Semester 2 Orientation saw a return to mostly unrestricted events on campus. FUSA ran a successful program of O’Week activities across several days including clubs, stalls, live music, free lunch, games and more. Events included two Fair Days, a Market Day, Winter Warmer and an O’Week After Party. The Fair Days were a great opportunity to boost the club’s

66 Grab ‘n’ Go events

community, as they were not able to take part in Semester 1 Orientation due to covid restrictions. The Clubs team also hosted an online Clubs presentation with 122 students streaming online.

FUSA Grab 'n' Go

FUSA hosted our second year of the Grab ‘n’ Go program, a weekly welfare initiative providing free snacks and stationery to students. It ran three times per week between Monday to Thursday and rotated across Bedford, Sturt and Tonsley. FMC campus was not viable due to ongoing restrictions.

*Note: above numbers were impacted by COVID due to event cancellations, and budget restrictions. 108 events were originally planned.

$12k of free snacks provided to students $1.5k of free stationery provided to students

Clubs, Collectives & Associations

FUSA’s Clubs and Student Communities program remained strong in 2022 thanks to our passionate volunteer community. More than 400 executive and hundreds of extended committee members volunteer their time every year towards engaging the Flinders student community. They make an enormous contribution to campus culture, creating much of the colour, vibrancy and energy associated with Flinders. These volunteers contribute to the planning and execution of a wide variety of student-driven events including balls, competitions, academic presentations and workshops, cultural and spiritual activities, excursions, sport and recreational activities, performances, awareness campaigns, environmental and charitable projects, and much more.

Unfortunately, Clubs and Student Communities were unable to participate in Semester 1 Orientation in 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This severely disrupted their ability to engage with commencing students, as Orientation is the flagship event each year for clubs to build their membership, encourage strong attendance at launch events, and maintain their committees. Although FUSA ran a successful Clubs Fair in the first week of May, the absence of an Orientation presence would go some way to explain the reduced numbers of registered events/activities

and reduced estimated registered activity attendance. Despite this decrease, the Clubs and Student Communities program continues to be an incredibly cost-effective method of engaging the Flinders University community, costing FUSA an average of $186 per activity and $5.40 per attendee in 2022.

A total of 93 Clubs and Student Communities were affiliated with FUSA in 2022. There were 22 new applications for affiliation over the course of the year, which represents a slight increase in applications compared to 2021. Of these applications, 19 successfully affiliated with FUSA. While the overall number of Clubs and Student Communities remains stable, roughly a quarter of all affiliates are refreshed each year. These inactive clubs are replaced with new affiliates representing a broad range of interests and activities.

Clubs and Student Communities are continuing a reconstruction process following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rebuilding institutional knowledge and improving handover processes between outgoing and incoming committees, many clubs have re-established their presence on campus. FUSA’s affiliated cultural clubs, which were particularly affected by border closures, have organised a significant increase in activities since the easing of border

restrictions over the course of 2022. Of those 19 new Clubs and Student Communities affiliated in 2022, 6 were cultural or international student clubs. Overall, clubs have increased their uptake of available grant funding. Access to General Funding and Pool Funding were both in high demand in 2022, and FUSA distributed more than $110,000 in 2022 to support Clubs and Student Communities with both existing activities and new projects.

In 2021, FUSA was provided management and significant infrastructure funding to refurbish the McHughs building. Over the course of 2022, the building was converted into a multipurpose student and club community space, with various facilities including a kitchenette, meeting room, projector and AV system, booth seating, and moveable tables and chairs. Plus, some of the best views on campus can be experienced from the balcony. Construction works were completed late in the year, and the McHughs Community Space officially opened for student and club use in

December 2022. The building is the second largest function space on campus and has already become a de facto home for several Clubs and Student Communities who use the space regularly.

A major goal for the program in 2023 concerns investing resources and staffing into developing a more community-oriented program. Our affiliated Clubs and Student Communities have significant membership and engage with a wide range of students; however, they have anecdotally expressed difficulty reaching and connecting with the broader student community. 2023 will see the launch of a dedicated Clubs and Student Communities Instagram presence, which will provide students with a welcoming space to learn more about clubs, events and the students who run them. Broadly, we intend to improve our reach with the broader student community and facilitate improved promotion and marketing of clubs and their events and activities.

Be A Better Human

Background

The Be a Better Human (BABH) campaign was launched in 2018 in response to The Australian Human Rights Commission’s national survey and report on sexual assault and harassment in Australian Universities. The campaign focused on issues identified by both the AHRC Report and Flinders’ students including sexual harassment and sexual assault on and off campus, bystander education, specialist and counselling support for survivors, campus security services and how to report.

2021 Review

Since the campaign launched, the social and cultural context has continued to evolve. To assess the importance, relevance and longevity of the campaign, a thorough review of existing material was undertaken via multiple focus groups, a survey, and Student Council

2022 Review

In 2022, redevelopments to the campaign material’s look, feel and language were made in collaboration with the FUSA Student

Council, Sexual Violence Project Officer and FUSA Media Team, executed by design agency Mango Chutney.

The redevelopment included improving the design standard of the campaign material and updating content to reflect shifts in terminology and language. Further communications were developed to provide direct connections with support services and reporting options.

Key Messages

The BABH campaign covers a significant and complex amount of information. The new messaging aimed at talking to, rather than at students with a goal to empower those within the Flinders community to feel comfortable to report, support, and take action. All messaging directed students to appropriate links and resources including reporting options and support services. To aid in the comprehension of messaging, two type of visuals for each subject was created: a simplified version that was clear and concise, and an in-depth version that conveyed complex messages in a detailed yet comprehensive way.

Event Activations and Launch

Throughout the year, BABH had a presence on campus. Prior to the ‘launch’ of the redeveloped materials, the Bedford Park campus was activated with a BABH stall in May.

In August, BABH officially launched its redeveloped campaign materials at the Be A Better Human Fair Day at Bedford Park. The Fair Day included eight relevant stallholders and a large exhibition of the BABH materials. The event had high attendance and was well-received by the students. It is estimated over 300 students were in attendance. All activities had good engagement, particularly the beading station, tote bag painting and photobooth. In summary:

85 x tote bags were used for the painting activity

100 x bead key/phone chains pre-packed and given out

60 students partook in sit-down beaded key/ phone chain activity

200 x cookies given out

112 x BABH tote bags given out

135 x key chains given out

50 x coffee vouchers given out

Following the main launch at Bedford Park, BABH activated at Tonsley with a pop-up stall and a Sturt pop-up and beading station.

Media & Communications

Throughout the year, the Media Team provides support to various FUSA Student Council, Empire Times editors, student clubs and staff by assisting in projects, events, and initiatives. We provide graphic design solutions, communication and marketing strategies, promotional goods, and web development as well as project development and data analysis.

In 2022, we played an integral role in facilitating various initiatives such as the "Be a Better Human" campaign, Orientation, and FUSA Student Diary. Furthermore, the Media Team extended its support and assisted in cross-departmental projects, including Flinders Wellbeing Survey and Student Safety and Respect at Flinders. We developed and deployed the FUSA survey to seek feedback and input from students, benchmarking our services to improve offerings further.

In 2022, FUSA emphasised growing its social media presence, delivering quality content and services through social media platforms, and maintaining a consistent, student-focused voice. Consequently, FUSA experienced a significant increase in engagement as evergreen content, events, and FUSA-led initiatives were promoted on and off-campus.

Looking back on the past year, we've made some serious progress in fine-tuning the FUSA branding guides and have given our marketing materials a fresh coat of paint. Our team have gone above and beyond to ensure that our branding guidelines accurately represent who we are and keep up with the latest trends in the industry. We've rolled out these guidelines across all our channels - from old-school print to new-school digital - and have seen some epic engagement from our target audience as a result.

With the redevelopment of the student website underway, social media has become the primary means of communicating important information about FUSA's services, initiatives, events, and opportunities to students. Platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have been leveraged to achieve this goal.

Financials

The majority of the funding FUSA receives is from the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF). The SSAF is a compulsory fee charged by the University which supports nonacademic services and amenities for Flinders students. Student consultation takes place when considering how the income will be used to provide or enhance these services and amenities.

Every year, FUSA submits a funding request and budget to the SSAF Budget Advisory Committee which provides a recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor regarding how the SSAF income should be allocated across the University.

This funding request is prepared in consultation with the Student Council and FUSA staff. Student Council then approve the final funding request and budget. In the 2021 round, FUSA was allocated $2,187,000 for 2022.

SSAF funds are required to be spent in accordance with the Allowed Amenities and Services as provided for under Section (19-38) if the Higher Education Support Act 2003. Unspent funds for the year are returned to the University’s SSAF holding account to be disbursed as per the above section in the Act.

Student Engagement $1,060,557

Salaries, operational costs, support for initiatives that enhance student experience.

Student Representation $66,000

Development Grants, support for student academic representation and voice across all colleges and support for the functions of Student Council.

Events $275,000

Student focussed events and activities including O’Weeks, cultural and issues specific events and activities on campus.

Student Advocacy & Welfare $376,743

Independent and confidential academic advocacy, financial counselling, emergency financial assistance and welfare support to students.

Communications & Media $136,500

FUSA and Student Council promotion marketing, including website and social media presence, production of Empire Times, Student Diary, and student focussed campaigns such as Be a Better Human

Breakdown of SSAF Funds allocated to FUSA for 2022

Clubs & Societies $149,000

Funding for non-sporting student clubs and societies, including social, political and international clubs, and academic associations

Student Council $71,500

Funds for individuals to pursue projects relevant to the platforms they are elected on, and for their professional development.

Income and Expenditure Report

January to December 2022:

In consultation with Student Council and with the support of University administration the FUSA team were able to adapt to conditions and opportunities throughout the year to respond to student need and changing circumstances. Savings primarily due to vacancies in some positions (Student Engagement line above) were utilised for the following key spends:

-Additional development grants delivered to students

-Bringing forward spends for 2023 including for student diary and other merchandise

-Replacement Large Format Printer

-Additional resources to the Be a Better Human Project redevelopment

Ben Smith Manager Student Engagement

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

STUDENT ASSOCIATION

FUSA@FLINDERS.EDU.AU

FUSA.EDU.AU

LEVEL 1, STUDENT HUB, FLINDERS UNIVERSITY, BEDFORD PARK